Utility companies typically keep records of the electrical connections between individual service delivery points (for example, sockets and electricity meters at homes) and pole- or pad-mounted transformers used to reduce or “transform” the high voltage from the utility down to the 120/240 volt residential service. These records are often inaccurate, sometimes inaccurate more than 50% of the time. In addition, in some cases utility commodities, e.g., electricity, are consumed by non-metered loads, referred to as “non-technical line loss;” often the result of theft.
In addition to theft, such inaccuracies in mapping can result from incorrect wiring in response to an outage and even incorrect wiring or reporting of such wiring at initial installation. For numerous reasons, it is important and would be useful for utility companies to have more accurate mappings. Obviously, theft prevention is critical to customers and the utility companies. Further, in the event of a power outage, knowing exactly which transformer(s) to attend to in order to restore power would greatly reduce down time, as well as utility company employee work time, etc.
Utilities have traditionally performed the transformer-to-meter mapping with field surveys, which are expensive, time consuming, and are generally infrequent so they do not provide continuous data. Such field surveys can actually be conducted by physically following wires from houses to the transformer drums, but the limitations to this method of mapping are fairly obvious. Specifically, the issue is how to determine which house is connected to which transformer and to which phase on the particular transformer.
Such mapping can be attempted with power line carrier meters (i.e., a communications technology that runs over the power line itself) and transformer monitoring. For example, the possibility has been considered of locating a power line carrier communications device at each transformer for the different phases that is connected to meters at various houses. Determining with which meters the communications device can communicate should also indicate to which meters the different phases are connected. However, this solution is generally not economical as it requires the installation of individual monitors at the transformers and meters.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a process that allows for accurate and efficient mapping of meters to pole or pad transformers.